Costa Mesa seniors will soon have a new affordable housing complex next to the city’s senior center, an effort that’s been in the works for nearly two decades.
For 17 years, Costa Mesa has recognized the potential to build affordable housing in the parking lot of the Costa Mesa Senior Center, which is owned and operated by the city.
In a mid-March meeting, the city council unanimously approved plans to move forward on a 70-unit, fully affordable housing development in this spot for residents 55 and older.
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The agenda report states that the development will be four stories with a parking garage. Out of the 70 units, 68 are expected to be one-bedroom apartments and the last two will have two bedrooms.
Additionally, 35 of the units will be restricted for low-income senior households making 60% or below the median area income and 34 units will be restricted for very low-income senior households making 30% or below. One unit will be for an on-site manager.
There are also 133 parking spaces included in the plans — 59 of which are included in the parking garage with the rest being in a surface lot.
City officials expect the development to be completed by late 2027.
During the council meeting on March 18, Mayor John Stephens stated that each new development built by Jamboree Housing Corporation, the developer for this project, is the “nicest complex in the entire neighborhood.”
He also said that the reason why there wasn’t much opposition at the meeting was because of Jamboree’s public outreach efforts.
Councilmember Manuel Chavez said any new housing development is a good idea, especially when it’s aimed at seniors.
“One of the most common things I hear from residents throughout Costa Mesa is how much they wish they could get an apartment at the senior center,” Chavez said.
“They wish they could have an apartment that was affordable, that fit their budget, and almost more importantly, they wish they had a community that they could wrap around themselves in their later years,” he said.
Alejandro Santiago, who is a part of Orange County United Way’s team to end homelessness, spoke at the meeting about how this project benefits residents.
“Low-income seniors often struggle to find housing in Orange County that they can afford. This is one reason why about 30% of the county’s homeless population is 55 or older,” Santiago said. “This project fits well with the surrounding community.”
According to the Orange County Office on Aging, one of the overarching trends found among older residents is the fear of instability.
“Higher ‘concerns’ related to becoming homeless, financial means and lack of insurance were reported by those within the 55-64 years old,” a report from the office states. “In addition, home ownership was reported less within this age range.”
The office reports that one of its goals for the county is “affordable aging,” which aims to reduce housing insecurity for seniors.
The location for Costa Mesa’s new development was first identified for potential housing in 2008 and has remained on all city housing plans since, according to the agenda report. In February of last year, the council reviewed early concept plans from Jamboree and showed support for the project.
OC Supervisor Katrina Foley, former mayor of Costa Mesa, voiced her support for the development at the March 18 council meeting.
“I really am excited about this,” Foley said. “In 2008, I voted on having this site be housing at the senior center. Seventeen years later, here we are.”
Supporters emphasized the need for affordable housing available to seniors. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 13% of Costa Mesa residents are ages 65 and older.
The incoming senior housing development is near a host of local shops, restaurants and has access to nearby public transportation.
Betsy Densmore, one of the team leaders for Love Costa Mesa’s Neighboring Initiative, explained to the council how providing seniors with a space like this will also help mitigate issues for younger people trying to find housing.
“It is one more way that we could chip away at reducing housing scarcity,” Densmore said. “Because if (seniors) have a place to go, then their homes become available to young families who now are stuck in many cases if they want to live in Costa Mesa.”
Some potential issues brought up at the March city council meeting included parking issues, traffic and impacts on senior center programming. Most complaints stemmed from concerns about disturbances and inconvenience caused by construction.
“When the senior center will have construction, (the seniors) will be facing a few hardships of sometimes not being able to get there with their caretakers,” an unidentified speaker said at the meeting.
Marc Vukcevich, a Costa Mesa resident who spoke at the March 18 meeting, said that although he wanted the council to pass the project, he had some concerns about the number of seniors who would be driving and parking in the area.
“This is an immense amount of parking to be built in a pedestrian opportunity zone, not in general, just to be clear, but in a pedestrian opportunity zone,” Vukcevich said, “where we know that seniors are living eight years past their ability to drive, statistically speaking.”